ST. ALBANS CITY — Crossing an open field, a group of 24 German soldiers arrayed themselves along a hedge-line to stake out an escape route.
Then, shots rang out. Six of the 24 fell as a small squad of Allied soldiers ambushed the group just a few feet away.
“How many sixes was that?” Dan Albrecht, the game’s facilitator, asked.
Four sixes. It was a good dice roll for Collin Heskett, who watched the battlefield action from four feet away. Across the board, his father, Ken Heskett, considered what he’d do next during the miniature recreation of the historical battle.
At the 2nd Eloquent Gamer Mini-con held on Saturday at St. Albans City Hall, the three were just one group gathered around the hall’s space working through creative scenarios.
Organizer Donna Howard said Saturday’s crowd may not have been as large as hoped for, but the day-long event still had plenty of people meeting like-minded board gamers who may not have had a chance to meet otherwise.
“It’s a small turnout, but everyone is having fun,” Howard said.
The Hesketts definitely numbered among them. The father and son pair had moved to St. Albans in late summer, and they’ve been looking for others interested in their hobby of recreating historical battles.
They brought two of their own table-sized miniature map recreations to the convention to gauge such interest, and they ended up running into Albrecht, who is part of a Burlington-based group that runs similar historical scenarios.
“Having [the convention] here, it’s great. We’re meeting new people,” Albrecht said. “I just met these guys.”
For the three, their miniature recreations are a way to explore the past. For example, the scenario they were running happened in 1944 in the small French village of St. Lambert, when the German’s 2nd Panzer Division attacked the village in order to plan an organized retreat from advancing Allied forces. Meanwhile, a Canadian unit commanded by Major Dave Currie kept up the attack to stop them.
The Hesketts took up the roles as the commanding officers of both armies, and through a series of complicated rules, they played it out by laying out formations, moving their units and engaging in combat. Dice roles determined the outcomes.
Ken Heskett said the games are something he can do with his sons, and it’s helped them learn more about the details of history – such as equipment specifics – that often drive larger events.
“All of my boys developed an appreciation of history,” Ken Heskett said. “These aren’t just toy soldiers. They represent the past and the stories that are worth researching.”
Not everyone at the convention, however, was flipping through complicated rule sets.
Dave Goodwin had brought the much more simple game, Crokinole, which anyone can learn to play in about seven minutes. Goodwin said it’s usually a convention hit, and during Saturday’s event, it drew a few groups throughout the day.
“For me, [playing board games] is a social thing,” Goodwin said. “Board games are designed to be played by people. To sit across the table with friends eating pizza or drinking a beer, it’s hard to replace.”
Goodwin said he goes to conventions like Saturday’s event whenever he has the chance. He also goes to Burlington’s gaming cafe about every night.
The few vendors who participated in the event also spent some time getting into the board gaming action. Luke Hungerford, dressed in Captain America gear to promote his upcoming Rail City Fan Fest (scheduled for June 25-26 at Collins Perley Sports Complex)
spent part of the day wandering around the hall to check out the day’s games.
“It’s a good gathering in the community of people who aren’t always seen,” Hungerford said. “And I got some good exposure for Rail City.”
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